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The Philippines
The TOS Skills Training Center in Bago City, the Philippines, near Bacolod City, is also the site of the Rainbow Play Center, a preschool serving the poor families of a nearby farming village.
Here we see Bebot conducting a seminar on peace-making for a multi-religious and multi-cultural group in Mindanao.
A youth camp for the chairpersons of the government youth councils in the entire province of Iloilo.
Vic and Diana Dunningham Chapotin at a theosophical preschool that serves a very poor community in Caloocan City
Delhi, India
Bro B L Bhattacharya observes Dr Bhushan inspecting teeth during one of the many Free Dental Check Up Camps being organised by TOS Deepti Group. Free treatment is provided at "TOS Deepti Dental Centre", a fully owned Dental Centre of their Group.
Heart surgery for children from the economically weaker section of society is co-sponsored by TOS Deepti Group.
Bro B L Bhattacharya, National Director TOS in India inspecting the "BrahmShakti Mahila Prashikshan Kendra, Raipur", one of the many Vocational Training Centres for Rural Women being conducted by Sister Sunita Gahrotra, TOS Deepti Group
Portugal
The TOS’s Correspondent for Portugal, José António Machado Alves, regularly gives cooking classes in premises belonging to the city hall in Lisbon. He gives out recipes and shows how to make dishes for those who wish to join the workshop sessions. Participants are delighted with the classes and enjoy tasting the food they make together.
Pakistan
The TOS in Pakistan recently held a function to acknowledge the work their teachers are doing for the home-schools despite the many hurdles they encounter.
Fareeda and Aman Amir report that despite the unrest and violence in Karachi, the teachers at the literacy home-schools continue their work in an exemplary way. These schools are known as Qandeel home schools, symbolising the light of learning spreading out from a lantern.
Each teacher was given a bonus equal to the salary for a month. A letter of appreciation from the International Secretary of the TOS was also given to each teacher. Of course the letter had a translated Urdu version attached.
The children of each school had prepared songs, small plays etc.
Australia
Members of the Brisbane TOS group have been exploring ways of reducing their environmental footprint for several years. They have also been promoting practical ways that people can help the environment by reducing their general consumption, energy use and water use.
Members have recently been learning how to make carry bags from recycled newspapers, magazines, cardboard and fabrics. They have made several hundred bags of various sizes for use in the Brisbane TS library and bookshop.
France
The TOS in France held a lively and enjoyable meeting in Paris in early January at which photos were projected of all the service projects the TOS in France supports. This power point programme inspired several spontaneous donations. A small fundraising sale of home-made items was held and live music was played.
Brazil
The TOS in Brazil organized a bazaar, with donated objects and services. Here we see Jovelina Oliva and Denize Monteiro very busy serving everyone at the bazaar.
Members Erlinda Batista and Denize Monteiro (in white shirts) deliver fans and personal hygiene products to the Hospital Nosso Lar.
Kenya
The TOS and TS in Kenya have launched a project to educate children on the importance of looking after the natural environment.
Here we see Usha Shah, the Director of the TOS addressing students at the High Ridge Primary School in Parklands, Nairobi.
She talked about how trees are like human beings in that they need to be nurtured and taken care of. To look after our trees and the environment is our way of thanking the Supreme.
Present at the tree planting from left to right: Pauline (Head Teacher), Mary Anderson (Guest of Honour), Miss Sarla Maroo (Chairperson of Nairobi Lodge), Navin Shah (General Secretary of the TS in East Africa, and a teacher (High Ridge Primary School).
Here we see Mary Anderson planting a tree.
Usha Shah, the Convenor of the TOS in Nairobi, Kenya, has managed the famine relief project to support families in the village of Kitui.
Gujarat and Maharashtra regional conference, India
1. Gujarat and Maharashtra TOS Regional President, Bro. Kanti Bhai Patel (standing left), welcomes guest speaker, Bro. Mahendra P. Singhal (seated in the middle), who addressed over 50 members at their annual conference on the theme, “Why TOS and how it relates to brotherhood”.
2. As is so often the case at TOS conferences in India, a presentation was made to the needy – in this case a wheelchair.
Assam and Arunachal regional conference
The program began with a medical camp at which approximately 250 people were treated. They even had a mobile medical van equipped with X-ray and ECG facilities.
1. Consultations at the medical camp
TOS President, Tina Fiedler, handing a guest an afternoon
tea package
Successful fundraising for the TOS in Brisbane, Australia
The Brisbane TOS group in Australia supports a number of international TOS projects as well as its local project with homeless women. They are therefore frequently searching for successful fundraising ideas to enable them to make donations to these projects.
Recently they ran a cinema event that was well supported by their friends. They negotiated an excellent reduced price with a cinema, and sold tickets to a popular movie at a little more than the normal cost of a cinema ticket. On arrival, guests were welcomed with a beautifully packaged box of home-made afternoon tea treats and offered a choice of drinks. There was time before the start of the movie for guests to mingle and chat, which added to their enjoyment of the event. Since the afternoon tea was donated by TOS members, this event was a most successful fund-raiser.
Income generating skills for needy ladies in Nairobi
The TOS in Kenya have a project to give skills
to women enabling them to add to the family income. Ten ladies from 25
to 70 years of age came to the premises of the TS in Nairobi and were
shown how to make cow dung cakes to use as fuel, instead of coal. The
fuel cakes are easy and cheap to make, are environmentally friendly and
can be sold with a very reasonable profit margin.
The ladies were also taught to make dairy products: butter, ghee
(clarified butter), yoghurt (plain and with different fruits and fruit
flavours), cottage cheese (again with several flavours), lassi (a
cooling yoghurt drink) and paneer (a kind of cheese). Ways to make, pack
and sell the products were also discussed
1. Cow dung cakes
2. Cow dung cakes drying on a tree
Social welfare centre at Adyar
1. TS members awaiting the start of the Open Day celebrations
4. Free medical treatment is provided at the Social Welfare Centre for needy villagers by the doctors of the Theosophical Order of Service in Chennai.
